Crisis Intervention, Essay Example

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how to be an effective human service professional as the job relates to the ethical standards and community support skill standards set.

Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention is an important aspect of human services due to the nature of its role in providing immediate emotional, physical and mental support to victims of crisis. Crisis intervention is an action-oriented response to a situation that is needed in order to properly address an ongoing negative situation and to mitigate its sequelae. Community and human services workers, in their line of work, are always faced with crisis that needs immediate intervention. There is a need to act fast. However, in the process of intervention, there are still guidelines and standards that must be followed in order to attain the desired result.

Issue

The issue in the given situation is a crisis of suspected domestic violence as triggered by the apparent change of behavior of Betty and also the visible facial bruises she has. In order to properly intervene in this situation, there is a need for an accurate assessment as the first step. The assessment entails probing questions as to what happened and make an identification of a potential risks for safety, if there is any. Make sure to listen carefully and be sympathetic. There is a need for a critical evaluation of the situation to ensure that there is indeed a crisis of domestic violence in the house. The priority is to ensure the safety of the possible victim as the situation can escalate. Then a report must be completed providing the details of the assessment conducted the need for an action plan to provide protection, the risk for an escalation of the event, and the events that led to the discovery of the facial bruises. More importantly, the report must contain the information exactly as how the client said it. File the report to a senior manager. However, if Betty does not want to say anything or confide, it is imperative to not press Betty for details. In this case, just make a note as to what has been observed such as the facial bruises, the changes in behavior and the need for an investigative action plan.

Ethical Decision

One of the ethical decisions that are imperative in this case is the question of whether or not to violate the confidentiality between the worker and the client. Also, the sharing of information that can be obtained from Betty regarding a potential domestic violence is also one of the ethical decisions that have to be made. Personal bias and stand on domestic violence is likewise crucial. It is important to note that Betty has the right to privacy and confidentiality. But such confidentiality and right to privacy may be broken in the case where the confidentiality and the right to privacy poses more harm to the client than protection (NOHS, n.d).

Community Support Skill Standard

In this case, the community support skill standard that is really important is assessment (Taylor, et.al., n.d). This skill is crucial because this competency allows for the proper identification of the crisis, if there is any. It is an investigative work where all the events that led to the conclusion of domestic violence (or the absence of it) are taken into consideration. There are protocols that are needed to be followed during assessment such as getting informed consents, confidentiality, privacy, and involving people that will play an important part in the formation of an action plan before things escalate. Hence, competency in the assessment process is critical.

Summary

With all the foregoing, it can be seen that the identification of a crisis and the intervention process is not as easy as it seems. A case manager must be able to show competency and knowledge on the ethical and legal aspects of the job and how to communicate it to the clients. The most important thing to always consider in crisis intervention is the safety of the clients as well as the preservation of their well-being.

References

National Organization for Human Services. (n.d). Ethical standards for human service professionals. Retrieved from http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43

Taylor, M., Bradley, V. & Warren, R. (n.d). The community support skills standards. Cambridge, Mass: Eric Publishing.